UAE | Crime
British couple seeks speedy verdict
A British couple facing trial for reportedly engaging in sexual activity at the Jumeirah beach have requested a swift ruling for them to return home soon.
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:15 September 2, 2008
Dubai: A British couple facing trial for reportedly engaging in sexual activity at the Jumeirah beach have requested a swift ruling for them to return home soon.
The woman, M.P., and her alleged partner, V.A., both in their 30s, who earlier denied having sex in public, requested a speedy verdict so they could return to their country quickly when they appeared before Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad of the Dubai Court of Misdemeanour.
The defendants' legal representative, Hassan Mattar, argued they were not guilty of any indecent act in public. "My clients are innocent ... the medical reports have proven that there was no sexual activity," Mattar stated.
Media focus
As the defendants waited outside the judge's office for the adjournment date, a fleet of reporters and photojournalists (some of whom had flown in from Britain to cover the case) besieged them in an attempt to take photographs and conduct interviews.
The couple seemed agitated, especially M.P., who was forced to leave after having covered her head with a scarf and used a newspaper to hide her face. Mattar escorted her from the court building and away from the media.
Meanwhile, the judge adjourned the case until September 9, during which the court will hear statements from the policeman who, according to court records, caught the couple engaging in sexual activity.
The suspects are currently out on bail after having placed their passports with the Public Prosecution's custody.
Mattar said the woman handed her liquor licence over to the court . However, the man didn't have a licence as he was on a visit.
"The prosecution witnesses failed to confirm that the suspects were seen engaged in sexual intercourse," Mattar explained to Gulf News earlier.
"The Public Prosecution has also failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public. However, the suspects tested positive for liquor, which appeared in their blood and urine tests."
Senior Public Prosecutor Faisal Abdul Malek Ahli said earlier that M.P. reportedly consented to having illicit sexual intercourse on Jumeirah's beach in front of beachgoers on July 5.
"They had illicit sex and breached public indecency at Jumeirah Open Beach when they were under the influence of liquor," Ahli said earlier.
The prosecution witnesses failed to confirm that the suspects were seen engaged in sexual act."
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